These are trying times. Crisis come and go, but there are a couple of on-going developments in the world that are extremely delicate in nature. At the same time, these crisis’s invariably provide a window of opportunity for instilling change. As someone once said, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste”.Now, much can be said about the overall state of geopolitics, the economy in general and how it’ll continue having ripple effects on everything else.That being said, there are a couple of key areas that need our utmost attention. And these areas should not be ignored at any cost.

State of cyber-security: Everything is connected, but let’s make sure that not everything is exposed. When it comes to safeguarding assets, private sector fares better as compared to the public sector. But as the pace to change everything, that was once an atom – to a bit, expedites. So does the need to protect these assets. The trade secrets, the designs, intellectual property, military and state secrets. Thechallenge in this domain would be to secure the digital assets without compromising upon the collaboration that occurs. It’s not an impossible task to accomplish. However events during the last 12 years are testament to the fact that we end up tightening the security aspect of things a bit too much. It’s a sensitive debate. But let’s just say that some elements of the Patriot act have come at the expense of sacrificing certain freedoms and privacy. But these very freedoms are the very foundations that make Democratically elected countries so great. Correction, democratically elected countries with a solid constitution. Point being, focus on security, but don’t let it be the only point of focus

Infrastructure: Not only do we need to maintain the existing infrastructure. We need to invest in infrastructure for the future. Personally, I am not so much concerned with maintaining roads and bridges. Don’t get me wrong, we need those, but sometimes I question the amount of time and effort we spend on maintaining roads. More importantly and keeping the manufacturing redux into perspective,we need well maintained ports and excellent rail networks. There should be a keen focus on upgrading sea-ports and making sure that these ports are scalable (volume) and that there is redundancy. Rail is the future. It is the future for inter-state commercial, trade routes. As well as moving people back and forth. As populations increase, it will start becoming inefficient to fly people from multiple locations across multiples locations within a country. If the time to travel can be cut down for land based travel, which it looks like it will. Then that will remove the only barrier towards leveraging rail as an efficient, safe, reliable form of transportation. The networks (rail networks) could then be leveraged for multiple purposes. The thing is, Infrastructure requires capital. We (North America at the very least) don’t have that much capital to invest at the moment. Both other countries do. The key here is not to focus on infrastructure alone, but look at it from the lens of the bigger picture. This entails that we do not get embroiled in trade battles and/or other battles that could come at the expense of potential investments. But at the same time, standing up for what we believe is right and just. (patent infringement, intellectual property theft, cyber espionage). Key is to attract investments in infrastructure. But at the same time bring up issues impacting us in an honest and amicable way. Also engage the wider world and trade bodies when it comes to some of these issues. Another important point is to retain control and not privatize infrastructure. That’s a big no no. It should be treated as an investment that offers returns and nothing else.

Education: I’ve blogged about education in the past. Make education completely free. Make higher education as inexpensive as possible. Eliminating these barriers will start showing results in as little as 5 years. Luckily, this phenomenon has already started and there is an organic growth that is slowly beginning to rival the traditional structure of education. This is good for individuals, as it eliminates that barrier for anyone who has always wanted a good quality education. But lacked the funds to do it. But it is also good for society in so many different ways. It will spawn innovation, enterpreneurship and from a macro-economic perspective, the likelihood of the student debt situation become a national issue is going to be lessened. Developing countries are already making education as accessible as possible. In fact they are outpacing the developed world in the realm of knowledge sharing. 4000 libraries across India, digitally linked with each other, is a great example here.

Keeping an eye on the big picture: Globalization is a reality. Don’t fight it, not saying that we do. But I suspect that we are not planting the seeds that will help us reap the rewards down the road. All the “developing economies” today will be “developed” economies by 2050link New markets will continue opening up all over the landscape. As the saying goes, luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Setup the framework today, in order to engage in trade with the wider world tomorrow. The importance of the manufacturing sector redux, skilled trades, educated workforce is there. But equally important is to come up with a framework that will allow to engage in trade with the wider world today and in the forseeable future. The wheel doesn’t need to be re-invented here. The same tenets of conducting business/trade can and should be leveraged here. It starts with adequate market research, careful planning and spotless execution. Greater cohesion is required on the Inter-government front (state, provincial, local, federal), business, enterprise, agencies e.t.c

Switch to cleaner (non fossil fuel) based sources of energy: I’ve blogged about climate change as a subject numerous times in the past and why the threat should not be ignored. The switch to cleaner/alternative sources of energy goes hand in hand with this subject matter. However from the perspective of an actual impact. We might be able to adapt to the effects of climate change and/or even be able to modify the climate if push comes to shove. However time is not going to be on our side if we suddenly find out that we only have 5, 10, 15 years of fossil fuel left. Instead of waiting for the time when peak-oil actually becomes a reality. Let’s put in the cycles in place to ensure that we are prepared to make a switch and let’s setup realistic targets. Europe has done it (Desertec). What is North America waiting on?

Creating smarter platforms. Attracting the best and the brightest: Computing, civilizations and even nations have one things in common. The best/most open/yet most secure/most vibrant platform wins. As other economies of scale emerge around the world, the competition for attracting the best and the brightest will suddenly go international. The reverse brain drain issue, will become a much urgent issue overnight. As talent is going to be leeched, from all over the world. Create the best platform, reform immigration today, attract the best and the brightest and make them feel at home.

These are just some of the areas I believe we could do a better job at. Did I miss a key area? Hmm, I’m thinking Entrepreneurship.